Refrigeration apparatus



June 27, 1933. H E \MLLSIE 1,916,028

REFRIGERATI ON APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1926 ATTORNEY Patented June 27, 1933 UNITED STATES HENRY ELMER WILLSIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Application filed October 13, 1926. Serial No. 141,292.

My invention relates to the so called intermittent absorption refrigeration apparatus, and the apparatus in general has been described in patents issued to me. The ohject of this invention is to provide automatic means for draining liquor from the evaporator, and more especially by means of the different specific gravities of liquids in a drain pipe loop below the evaporator. I

The drawing discloses a schematic circuit or flow sheetof the apparatus used in carrying out my invention.

1 attain this object by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing which is a 15 vertical, diagrammatic View of the entire apparatus for refrigeration and draining. Similar characters refer to similar parts. The operation is as follows: The still absorber is partly filled with aqua ammonia, called liquor, which when heated, as by gas flames 11', drives ammonia gas and some steam thru pipe 12 into the trap 13 in which liquor collects to the level of the top of pipe 14; excess draining into the still. The gas passes thru pipe 15 into the evaporator 19. Heavy liquor condensed or left in the evaporator drains into and thru inlet pipe 16, past check ball 18 into outlet pipe 17 and overflowing 0 into pipe 15 drains thru the trap 13 back to the still-absorber. The top of pipe 17 1s connected to pipe 15 at a level below the bottom of the evaporator. The check 18 prevents liquor returning from pipe 17 into pipe 16 and there absorbin ammonia.

The operation 0 the drain ust described depends upon the difierence in the specific gravities of the liquor and the liquid or anhydrous ammonia in the system. Though w the leg 17 is shorter than the leg 16, the device will under no circumstances permit liquid ammonia to drain from the leg 17, because when sufiicient of the liquor has drained from the evaporator and the drain loop so that only suflicient liquor remains therein to fill the leg 17 the weight of this column of liquor will be suflicient to balance the column of liquid ammonia in leg 16 increased by the depth of the liquid ammonia in evaporator 19. Inasmuch as the liquor has a higher specific gravity than the liquid ammonia this result may be secured by properly proportioning the relative lengths of the columns. As the difierence in specific gravities is small the length of the loop will be comparatively great and the outlet of pipe 17 relatively close to, but below, the bottom of the evaporator. The operation, it will be understood,

is not dependent on check valve 18, said valve serving merely to prevent the liquor in c0lumn in pipe 17 from returning to pipe 16 after the liquor enters the former pipe.

The ammonia gaspasses thru the evapo-' rator and thrupipe 20 into the condenser 21 which is submerged in the cooling water tank 22. When sufiicient ammonia has been liquefied the heating of the still is stopped which then cools enough to reduce its pressure and thus the liquid ammonia is forced from the condenser 21 thru pipe 20 into the evaporator. Liquid ammonia is not heavy enough to drain past the liquor leg in pipe 17. The evaporating ammonia gas passing thru pipe 15 into the trap 13 raises a liquor leg in pipe 121; and passes into pipe 23, w ich then acts as a circulator, because the flow of gas from the lower end of pipe 14 into the still absorber sets up a fiow of liquor thru the circulator pipe 23, thus transferring heat from the liquor in the still-absorber into the water in tank 22. r a

What I claim is:

1. In a refrigerating system, a still absorber, an evaporator having a pipe open toward the still-absorber, a. U-shape-d drain conduit below the evaporator having the inlet leg opening into the bottom of the evaporator, and the outlet le connected to said pipe at a point below the ottom of the evaporator, the outlet leg of said conduit being of such height that when filled with a column of liquor said column will substantially balance a column of liquid ammonia equalling the height of the inlet leg plus the depth of said liquid in the evaporator. i

2. The combination defined in-claim 1 ineluding a check valve in said conduit to sub- 3. The combination of a still-absorber, evaporator and condenser connected in an operative cycle, a trap connected between the still-absorber and evaporator to control {the flow of gas into the still-absorber, a drain ipe loop of 'U-form having legs of varying eights opening into the bottom of the evaporator and into a pipe draining toward said trap, respectively, the legs of said loop being arran d so as to maintain a liquid seal therein at all times and so that when a column of liquor from said evaporator in one of said legs overbalances the effect of the column in the other leg a flow of liquor to said trap ensues.

4. The combination of a still-absorber, evaporator and condenser connected in an operative cycle, a trap connected between the still-absorber and evaporator to control the flow of gas into the still-absorber, a drain pipe 100 of the U-form having legs of varymg heig ts opening into the evaporator and into a pipe draining toward said trap, respectively the leg of said loop being arranged so as to maintain a liquid seal therein at all times and so that when a column of liquor from said evaporator in one of said legs overbalances the efiect of the column in the other leg a flow of liquor to said trap ensues, and means in one of said legs to prevent substantial reverse movement of liquor toward said evaporator.

5. The combination of a still-absorber, evaporator and condenser connected in an operative cycle, a trap connected between the still-absorber and evaporator to control the flow of gas into the still-absorber, a circulator pi connected at both ends into the bottom 0 the stillabsorber, a pipe leading from the upper part of the tra mto the circulator pipe, a drain loop of U- orm having legs of varying heights opening into the evaporator and into a pi e drainingtoward said trap, respectively e legs of said loop being arran (1 so as to maintain a. liquid seal therein at a -times and so that when a column of liquor from said evaporator in oneof said legs overbalances the effect of the column in the other leg 0. flow of liquor to said trap ensues.

6. Absorption type refri crating a paratus, comprising a-still-absor r, a con enser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable at all times of completely drainin the evaporator, and means operating and e eetive at all times for permitting automatic drainage therethrough of absorbing agent undesirably present in the eva ratorbut preventing drainage of desirab e refrigerant. a

7. Absorption type refrigerating apparatus, comprising a still-absorber, a condenser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable at all times 1 es of completely draining the evaporator, said,

conduit including a hydrostatic seal arranged to establish and maintain li uid columns which permit free flow from t e evaporator of absorbing agent but prevent like flow of useful refrigerant.

8. Absorption type refrigerating apparatus, comprising a still-absorber, a condenser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable at all times of completely draining the evaporator, said conduit being formed tov contain two columns of sealing liquid, one column of which supports a liquid column open toward the still absorber and the other column of which is open toward the evaporator, the maximum column of the sealing liquid being suflicient to support its column when of refrigerant but insufficient to support the same when of absorbing agent. a

9. Absorption type refrigerating apparatus, comprising a still-absorber, a condenser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable of completely draining the evaporator, and means operative and efiective dependent on v the difference in specific gravity of the absorbing agent and refrigerant for permitting automatic drainage therethrough of absorbing agent undesirably present in the evaporator but preventing drainage of desirablerefrigerant.

10. Absorption type refrigerating apparatus comprising a still-absorber, a condenser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable of completely draining the evaporator, said conduit including a hydrostatic seal arranged r to establish and maintain liquid columns which permit free flow from the evaporator of the heavier absorbing agent and prevent like flow of lighter useful refrigerant.

11. Absorption type refrigerating apparatus comprising "a still-absorber, a condenser, an evaporator, a drainage conduit from the bottom of the evaporator capable of completely draining the evaporator, said conduit bein formed to contain two columns of liquld, one column of which supports a liquid column open toward the still absorber, and the other column of which is open toward the evaporator, the maximum column of liquid in said first column being suflicient to support a column of lighter refrigerant but insufiicient to support the same when of heavier absorbing agent. a

12. In 'a refrigerating system a still-ab sorber, an evaporator, means connecting said evaporator and said still-absorber, a drainpipe loop of U-form having the legs thereof opening into the bottom vof the evaporator and into said means respectively, the legs of said loop being arranged so as to maintain a liquid seal around the loop at all times and so that when a column of liquor entering one of said legs from said evaporator overloop being constructed and arranged that said liquor will flow from said evaporator toward said still-absorber when the column in the leg in communication with the bottom of the evaporator exceeds the'balancing effect of the column in the other leg of said loop.

14. In a refrigerating system including a still-absorber, an evaporator, anda condenser connected in an operative cycle, means todrain liquor from the evaporator and convey the same to the still-absorber comprising a loop having legs of varying heights connected together at one end and with the upper end of the higher leg in communication with said evaporator and the upper end of the lower leg in communication with said still-absorber, said loop being constructed and arranged that said liquor will flow from said evaporator toward said still-absorber when the columnvin the leg in communication with the bottom of-the evaporator exceeds the balancing effect of the column in the other leg of said loop, and means in one of said legs to prevent substantial reverse movement of the columns in said legs toward said evaporator.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of'Ohio this eleventh day of October A. D. 1926.

HENRY ELMER WILLSIE. 

